Top Stories
Loss of species hits economy; new U.N. goals
needed.—reliability high.
"Losses of animal and plant species are an increasing economic threat
and the world needs new goals for protecting nature after failing to
achieve a 2010 U.N. target of slowing extinctions, experts said Friday.
Losses of biodiversity "have increasingly dangerous consequences for
human well-being, even survival for some societies," according to a
summary of a 90-nation U.N. backed conference in Norway from February
1-5." "Apart from food production, less obvious sectors such as
tourism, medicines or energy production with biofuels all depended upon
nature and diversity of species." From
Reuters. [Can
loss of biodiversity be an issue for businesses? Maybe so, even if your
business doesn't depend on the vanishing Atlantic Bluefin Tuna (see
item below).]
Study: access to good public transportation
can make foreclosures less likely.—reliability medium.
A study found that in San Francisco, CA, Chicago, IL and Jacksonville,
FL neighborhoods with better "Location-efficiency" had lower rates of
foreclosure. "Location-efficiency is "a measure of the transportation
costs in a given area," and it includes not just car ownership, but
also if the area has reasonable public transportation." See
Autoblog Green. PDF of study here.
[HaraBara hasn't
analyzed the study, but notes that housing is often more expensive when
closer to public transportation. Maybe homeowners in
transportation-rich (mainly downtown) neighborhoods can afford more
expensive houses and can afford to keep up their mortgages. But if they
get in trouble they can sell one or all of their vehicles and keep
paying the mortgage with the savings, since driving costs more than
public transport. People in the suburbs can't sell their cars.]
Companies,
Industries, Markets and Supply Chains
FTC warns Wal-Mart, Target, others on bamboo
labeling.—reliability high.
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission "sent letters to Wal-Mart, Target,
Kmart, Amazon and 74 other companies warning them that rayon clothing
and other products cannot be labeled as bamboo . . . . 'While we have
seen action by some retailers to correct mislabeled clothing and
textile products, our hope is that these warning letters will serve as
a wake-up call to all companies, regardless of their size,' said David
Vladeck, director of the agency's Bureau of Consumer Protection." From
Reuters. [This
is an old story (see Daily
Brief last October and our blog posts Bamboozled
and It's
Easy Being Green--If You Lie) and it is hard to believe any
responsible company hasn't come down hard on its suppliers to end this
misleading labeling.]
Starbucks Asks U.S. Mayors to Help Improve
Recycling.—reliability medium.
Starbucks made a pitch to the U.S. Conference of Mayors, urging them
to "evaluate and improve local commercial and residential recycling
systems, so that the company can develop what it calls a 'comprehensive
recyclable cup solution' by 2012." It is hard for Starbucks, with
thousands of stores in jurisdictions all around the world, to deal with
the patchwork of recycling and waste regulations it faces. See
2Sustain.
FoodHub Rolls Out as a Matchmaker between
Farmers, Food Producers, and Buyers.—reliability high.
FoodHub, A social venture business of the nonprofit Ecotrust, launched
its service for matching local food suppliers to customers in the
Pacific Northwest. "Sophisticated search capabilities allow buyers,
both large and small, to instantly discover ready suppliers with a few
clicks of their computer keyboard. Conversely, sellers can use FoodHub
search features to identify new buyer leads and build targeted customer
databases. All registered users can complete an online profile that
includes a detailed description of their operation and preferred
methods for doing business. FoodHub supports both direct market
relationships and leverages existing distribution channels to encourage
growth in regional food sales." See
CSRwire. [Building
green supply chains.]
Hawaii Senate Says Cutting Back on Paper Has
Saved $1.2 Million.—reliability high.
"Looking to cut government waste, the Hawaii Senate decided two years
ago to take aim at a target that was all over the Capitol: paper. . .
. The Senate recently reported a two-year savings of more than
$1.2 million — nearly eight million pages, or the equivalent of over
800 trees. 'Doing it this way was so different and daunting at first,'
said the Senate clerk, Carol Taniguchi. 'Now it really seems to be a
way of life.'" More on the changes, and reaction of users. See New
York Times from AP.
Government and
Regulation
Bluefin tuna international trade ban
proposal backed by UN agency.—reliability high.
The head of the scientific unit of the Convention on International
Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) has come out in favor of listing
Atlantic Bluefin Tuna under appendix I of the convention, thus making
international trade in the species illegal. "There are 530 animal
species – including all the great apes, cheetahs, the snow leopard, the
tiger, and all sea turtles – as well as 300 plants on its appendix I
banning international commercial trade in species deemed under threat
of extinction." A two-thirds majority of "Some 175 countries are due to
vote on 40 proposals during the Cites triennial meeting in Doha, Qatar,
from 13-25 March" will be required for the listing. "Atlantic bluefin
tuna stocks have declined by more than 80% since 1970." From
The Guardian. [When
the exploiters of a resource are making so much money that they might
cause irreparable damage, can the UN has to step in to save it? Didn't
work at Copenhagen.]
Science and
Economics
Arctic melt to cost up to $24 trillion by
2050: report.—reliability high.
"Arctic ice melting could cost global agriculture, real estate and
insurance anywhere from $2.4 trillion to $24 trillion by 2050 in damage
from rising sea levels, floods and heat waves, according to a report
released on Friday." The technical paper, "An Initial Estimate of the
Cost of Lost Climate Regulation Services Due to Changes in the Arctic
Cryosphere", reports research funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts. From
Reuters. Access the report here.
[The researchers
estimated "In 2010, the loss of Arctic snow, ice and permafrost is
projected to cause warming equivalent to 3 billion metric tons of
carbon dioxide, equal to 40 percent of total annual U.S. emissions. By
the end of the century, this warming equivalent is projected to
double." Using various assumptions for the "social cost of carbon" per
tonne of emissions, they calculated "In 2010, the loss of Arctic snow,
ice and permafrost is estimated to cost the world US$61 billion to $371
billion" and "By 2050, the cumulative global cost is projected to range
from US$2.4 trillion to $24.1 trillion".]
[Crossposted from HaraBara.com courtesy of HaraBara, Inc. Copyright © 2010 HaraBara, Inc.]
